You can take a girl out of England but …

My daughter has more varieties than Mr Heinz himself. So the so called proverb ‘you can take a girl out of England but you cannot England out of the girl’ doesn’t apply. She has little or no Englishness –that dropped out generations ago. Grandparents and great grandparents on both sides were immigrants from places such as Ireland, Scotland, Yugoslavia, Italy and South America.

However it doesn’t stop me trying to ensure that while she is in Brazil she keeps some English traditions, such as the age old tradition of tea drinking and the more recent phenomenon wearing of Elle Macpherson underwear. (Oops! She is Australian) The latter is expensive here and more so in Brazil, but a simple gift and inexpensive to send if the need becomes urgent.

Such a pretty design

The tea drinking is not difficult as she can get tea – Matte, a favourite in Brazil. Traditional English is of course imported but expensive. Unfortunately, the dear girl has adopted my taste for more sophisticated teas that are not so easily available.

Some tea was taken in the luggage a year ago and I have since sent some. This proved to be expensive as it is heavier than underwear; it also takes longer and seems unreliable. I have had tea returned for no apparent reason six months later –damaged –so much so that it looked as if had been dragged across the Atlantic Ocean and back again.

Another problem is more frustrating – Rio de Janeiro is very humid and belongings are incline to get damp and mould very quickly –and that includes expensive tea.

My daughter has tried everything to solve it. She is going to try keeping the tea in airtight containers in the fridge. I hope this works as I have sent her back with a small tea-chest of supplies.

Tea just unpacked in new home

Meanwhile if anyone out there has any good ideas as regards keeping teas dry and fresh in her new home a fafela on the edge of a mountain five minutes from Copacabana Beach please let me know.

Related

This week end the clocks in Rio went back 1 hour ; my daughter in Brazil is now 3 hours behind me in UK. I see the sun before her and the moon rises over the Thames 3 hours before it rises over Copacabana! I am not sure of the effects of all the other meteorological differences and I am very sure that none of it has a detrimental effect on our long distance relationship. Especially when I think of the families of military men, and those relations split by real disaster and the difficulties they endure.
So as I consider a reblog I celebrate my good fortune and look forward to warmer climes. I remember when my daughter first moved to Rio and had problems keeping a tea in a good condition.